Kids and Dogs Most of my serious dog bite cases involve children for various reasons. Children are shorter and hence get face to face with dogs more readily and are more prone to be bitten in the torso, hands, head etc. whereas an adult will take an attack on the legs. Secondly, children are more trusting or less self-protective …
THE HARDEST CASES (AND THE EASY ONES TOO)
THE EASIEST CASE FOR THE LAWYER: The easiest case I encounter is one where the insurance does not nearly cover the value of the injury. So, let’s say that you are a pedestrian and a car jumps the curb in center city Philadelphia, hits you, and breaks your leg. You have surgery and need three months to recover. You …
Lawyers: Let’s Network at Scarpetta’s: May 12, 2022
As Lawyers, we know that the best cases come from colleagues, and so I thought I’d invite a few of you Neusletter subscribers to dinner. I’m hosting a table May 12, 6:30 PM at Scarpetta, and the first seven people to respond will be my guests. we’re going to do a bunch of these, so if you don’t get in …
Sovereign immunity: You Need Permission to Sue the Government
An age-old concept from olde England. Suing the City of Philadelphia: I get a lot of calls from people wanting to sue the City of Philadelphia or other municipalities. For various reasons, good and bad, there are limits on when you can sue the City. First, you must fall into one of the …
VENUE AND WHERE YOU FILE YOUR CASE MATTERS
I went to Cornell Law School and in first year civil procedure there was a lot of discussion of the impropriety of forum shopping from the academic perspective. Fast forward a few decades and forum or venue shopping is a major component of my decision-making on cases. Our judicial administrators all keep track of how many cases are filed, how …
PRACTICE TIP: BOILERPLATE PLEADINGS
Boilerplate is just part of being a lawyer. There are tried and true ways of doing things that save time and money and protect us from missing routine things. I have a fee agreement that is tuned just the way I like it after many years of use. Now, it’s essentially boilerplate. However, boilerplate is often used by …
What Hath The Pandemic Wrought in Personal Injury?
First, the Courts are still very backed up. Currently, Philadelphia and its suburban venues are bumping their longer and hence more involved cases to 2023! So, auto negligence cases with only one defendant and one plaintiff are getting trial dates. Cases with more than one defendant or that will take more than a week of trial are getting triaged by …
Who Ya Gonna Call?
So, you are laboring away working on a deal for a client whose company is growing rapidly. Aunt Irene calls you because you are the only lawyer in the family. She was just in an accident in Philadelphia over the weekend. What do you do? Should you handle the case yourself? No. Like every other area of the law, personal …
The Expert Witness
Expert witnesses are a necessary evil in your run of the mill personal injury case. We are not allowed to simply say that our client broke her wrist in the crash when her airbag went off. Even if the client’s medical records support this statement. The allegation that the other driver’s negligence caused your wrist fracture must be supported …
CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS AT SETTLEMENT
Confidentiality agreements are very popular with a lot of larger companies with a national footprint or multiple locations, facilities etc. So, what is a confidentiality agreement? Well, basically, in personal injury litigation, my area, a confidentiality agreement prevents the plaintiff from publicly proclaiming their settlement with x company and prevents them from disparaging the company or reporting it in social …